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Saturday, September 22, 2012

Family History Through the Alphabet – T is for …

T is for Timmins.

This week’s letter challenge was simple and effortless for me. There wasn’t any doubt in my mind that when it came time to choose a topic for T is for … it would be T is for Timmins – because Timmins is the town where I was born and raised. (For those who want to participate in this creative and fun challenge, visit Family History Through the Alphabet.)

Timmins, the “City with a Heart of Gold”, is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2012. Located in northeastern Ontario, Canada, Timmins is probably familiar to many people because of its connection with country pop singer Shania Twain. Shania, who was born in Windsor, Ontario, moved to Timmins as a child. (By the way, Shania is my 10th cousin three times removed, but that’s a topic for another time. And in case you’re wondering, no, I never met her, at least not so as I remember.) In 1979, my family and I left Timmins when we moved to British Columbia.

Let me tell you about my Timmins.

My Timmins is the one with cold, long, drawn-out snowy winters, which some years started in late October and lasted until March.

My Timmins is the one with the winding Mattagami River, where my sister and I first learned to swim.

My Timmins is the one with CFCL radio-television station, where the town’s teens would drive to “Hilltop Rendez-vous” during the summer months and wait in our cars for our turn to request songs from the live DJ.

My Timmins is the one where my sister and I would walk to the corner store on early Sunday evenings and buy a treat (like an orange Creamsicle) after watching “Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color” on our Philco television.

My Timmins is the one where kids of all ages could skate and play hockey at wood-panelled outdoor ice rinks, because just about every school yard had one in the winter months.

My Timmins is the one where my Mom would shop for my clothes (and school uniforms) at Bucovetsky’s downtown department store.

My Timmins is the one where family and friends would pack picnics, beach balls, and suntan lotion and head out for a Sunday afternoon of swimming and relaxing at nearby Kettle Lakes Provincial Park.

My Timmins is the one with the Palace Theatre where, as pre-teens, my best friend and I used to see Elvis Presley movies on Saturday afternoons.

My Timmins is the one where my Dad would take my sister and I out in the countryside on bright, winter days and give us rides in his homemade trailer pulled by his Alouette snowmobile.

My Timmins is the one where I and other kindergarten students were privileged to sing with older students at Christmas Mass one year at my parish church Notre-Dame de Lourdes.